Portable massage machine



April 21, 1931. J. 6. DE REMER PORTABLE MASSAGE MACHINE Original Filed March 30, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 EZTOR ATT NEY April 21, 1931.

J. G. DE REMER PORTABLE MASSAGE MACHINE Original Filed March 30, 1928 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 i In INVENTOR Patented Apr. 21, 1931 1 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE J 'AY G. DE REMER, OF GREENWICH, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS,

TO 3. G. DE REMER RESEARCH CORPORATIGN, 0F JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY, A COR- PORATION OF-NEW JERSEY PORTABLE MASSAGE MACHINE Application filed March 30, 1928, Serial No. 265,837. Renewed. September 18, 1930.

The invention is an improvement in reciprocating belt massage machines and more especially in thetype of self-massage ma-' chine first disclosed in my prior and copending application, Serial No. 219,387, the present invention being in the nature of an improvemen't thereon asrregards simplicity and economy of construction and providing certain other advantages as will presently appear. In brief, it may be stated that the type of machine referred to comprises an electric motor and belt-reciprocating means driven thereby,-the weight of the machine and the speed of reciprocation being mutually correlated to cause the machine as a whole to vibrate through an appreciable but not excessive amplitude when at workrand, as more fully set forth in the co-pending applica tion referred to, the said reciprocating means are arranged for connectlonto theends of a massage belt, which enclrcles the body of the user and produces thedesired massage effect when he leans or pulls against it.

I The drawings illustrate two forms of embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 1 being atop plan of the preferred form with parts broken out;

Figure 2 a side elevation partly in section;

' Figure. 3 an enlarged detail;

' ranged or mounted at one end of the oblong base 5 and the transmission mechanism being arrangedat theother end and in line with the axis of the motor armature. The underside of base 5 is provided with a felt pad 6 or the liketo absorb some of the machine vibration as well as to adapt thethemachine to be placed and used on a desk or table top without injury to the latter; The felt serves the further purpose of providing a certain amount of friction for restraining or dampsu ng the movement of the machine on its as separate units bolted to the base, but obviously these parts may be organized in one piece. a v The function of the transmission mechanism in housing 4 is to convert the rotary motion of the armature shaft into alternate reciprocating motion of two belt connectors 7, to which the ends of the massage belt 8 are detachably fastened. In the present case the belt connectors are represented by studs mounted in the forward ends of the belt plungers 9, such plungers being made hollow for the purpose and formed with top slots 10 to expose the ends of the studs, which latter do not project appreciably through the slot. By this construction the fastening of the belt to the plunger is accomplished without the use of projections likely to pinch the users hand by their movement-toward the housing 4. The plungers 9 are operatedby the eccentric straps 11 and 12 of two superposed eccentrics both fast on a vertical shaft 13, which is driven by a bevel gear 14 by the pinion on the motor armature shaft The shaft 13 is journalled in the top and bottom of the housing 4, independently of the armature shaft, so that the bearings of the latter are not called upon to support any of the users pull on the belt, all of this strain being taken by shaft 13. Lubrication is accomplished by the splash or any suitable means not shown in the drawing. The plungers slide in slidewaysin thetransmis'sionhousing 4 and in the same horizontal plane and also at an appropriate angle so that the belt pulls substantially straight upon them; preferably they are arranged at an angle whose apex is at the center of mass of the machine. The eccentrics are spaced 180 apart, being thus statically balanced,and it will be understood that special weighting, not shown, may be added to counterbalance the reciprocating forces exerted by the plungers and their eccentric rods according to well understood principles. The machine may operate at about 1000 R. P. M., according to the bevel support, The drawing shows the trans- 'nnssmn mechanism and motor casing formed gear ratio and motor speed and may veigh from 30 to 50 lbs, being therefore readily portable. A handle is bolt d to th t mission casing and the motor casin e mately over the center of mass.

When put to use the machine is placed on a suitable support, but not attached to 1 It is then connected by flexible means to some fixed part in rear, such as radiator, steam pipe, or door-knob so that the user may not pull the machine oil of its support, this feature being disclosed generally in my copending application above referred to. A preferred form of hold back means comprises a fabric rope or strap such as indicated a 16 provided with a buckle 17 so that it can be adjusted and accommodated to diiierent modes of attaclnnent. Preferably the stra is formed with a nub or enlargement 18 at its extreme end, by means of which he strap can be quickly fastened to a window sill, for example by simply closing the window on it indicated in Figure By reversing the ap in the buckle, as indicated in Figu re i, it can be fastened to or around am riser, radiator or other fixed object in dwellings. The strap may constitute th. sole connection, but it is preferably combined with a spring or springs to absorb vibration and which may, for example, be arranged indi 'ated at 19. The particular springs shown are fastened to the base or to the motor and are connected by a cross rod 20, the strap being secured to the latter.

While the hold back means sustains the users pull, it also, by virtue of its flexible nature permits movement of the machine on its supportin surface in response to such reaction forces as are generated in it, and which are variable according to the force of the users pull. The inertia of the machine absorbs most of the tendency to such vibratory or reciprocation movement; the remainder is taken care of by the restraint imposed on the machine by virtue of its spring connection and by such friction as may exist between the beltand the supporting surface. The connection of the massage belt at one end of the longitudinal axis of the machine and the holdback means at the other end, tends to keep such axis always in the general. line of the users pull, and thus restores the machine to an aligned position whenever it becomes displaced and even though the user chain-e ills position in reference to the fixed member to which the machine is tied. The virture of the spring when used not merely to permit movement and absorb vibration which might otherwise be transmitted to the fixed part of the building, but also to maintain a more constant pressure of the belt on the operators body and in this dual capacity it will be apparent that it may be app ied to other forms of portable machines and 4 not limited to the particular forms herein disclosed.

Referring now to Figures 4 to 7, the principal difference from the form first described is that the transmission mechanism here comprises a swash plate member or yoke 21 oscillated by an inclined crank portion 22 of a transmission shaft 23, the latter being directly coupled to the motor armature shaft by means of any suitable self-adjusting coupler indicated at 24. The swash plate member carries two upstanding belt connector hooks 25 and 26, which project upwardly through arcuatc slots in the cover member of the transmission housing. These belt hooks reciprocate in alternation, as will be cl erved from the drawing and with substantially the same effect as in the form first described. The yoke 21 is kept from rotation with the shaft 23 by means of two compres sion springs 2 5, alt gh other Inca or only one spring might be sufficie-nt, and the pull 3f the operator transmitted to the shaft 23 s sustained by the step bearing 28 with which he latter is provided. The top of the transmission housing 29 is curved somewhat in the general direction of the path of movement of the hooks, so that there is less likelihood of pinching the operators hand between the hook and the casing. The coupling 24 is likewise enclosed, for safety, in the tubular extension 30 of the transmission housing. The strap is here shown as combined with a single spring 31.

As in the case first described, the opera-- tors pull is endwise of the axis of the machine and the connection of the massage belt and hold back means to opposite ends of the latter restrains it from excessive lateral displacement, while nevertheless permitting it to accommodate its tendencies to move back and forth within the limits permitted by its mass at the speed of operation employed. In both cases the transmission mechanism is organized so as to reciprocate the ends of the massage belt in the general direction of the motor axis, or the axis of the base, and the connection, or at least the line of pull of the hold back device also extends in the same general direction. Vithin these principal characteristics it will be apparent that the invention may be ii'icorporated in. various different forms of mechanism and particularly as respects the design of transmission mechanism.

As respects the swash plate act-ion, it will of course be apparent that variation of the crank angle or of the length of the beltconnector studs will control the extent and character of the connector movement, which while not strictly a straight line reciprocation is nevertheless sufficiently so to bedefined as reciprocatory.

Vith respect to both forms of my invention here illustrated it will be observed that the vibratory movement of the machine as a whole is in the nature of a longitudinal or endwise reciprocation, as distinguished from for operation on a horizontal surface and un attached thereto and comprising a massage belt, a drive motor with transmission mocha nism for alternately reciprocating the ends of said belt, and a hold-back strap having a nub adapting it to be secured to. a window.

2. A portable massage machine comprising 7 i a base, drive motor and reciprocating belt connectors operated thereby in paths convergent toward the center of the machine.

3. A portable massage machine comprising a motor and transmission mechanism driven thereby located at one end of the motor and belt connectors reciprocated by said mechanism in paths convergent toward the center of the machine.

4. A massage machine of the reciprocating belt type comprising a drive motor with transmission mechanism for alternately reciprocating the ends of the belt including a reciprocating hollow plunger and a belt connector fixed inside of the end of said plunger.

5. A massage machine comprising a massage belt, a base, an electric motor thereon, drive connections from the motor arranged to reciprocate the belt ends in the. general direction of the motoraxis and a resilient hold-' back device connected to operate also in the general direction of the motor axis in opposition to the pull of the belt, the total weight of the machine being correlated to the reciprocating speed to produce an inertia effect so proportioned to the massage resistance that the machine bodily reciprocates, in the direction of said axis, when at WOI'kQ 6. A portable massage machine comprising a massage belt, a base suited for supporting the machine on a table top, desk or the like and unattached thereto, a motor mounted on the base adjacent one end, belt reciprocating means connected for operation by the motor and located adjacent the other end of the base and means for opposing the pull of the belt comprising a resilient hold-back device attached to said first-mentioned end of the base. I 7 A belt-reciprocating massage machine comprising an electric motor, belt-reciprocating means located at and driven from one end of the armature shaft inthe general direc-' tion thereof, a" belt connected to said means for operation thereby and a resilient hold back device attached to the machine and extending in the general direction of the motor axis, the total weight of the machine being correlated to the reciprocating speed to produce an inertia effect such that the machin bodily reciprocates when at work. 8. A massage machine as set forth in thepreceding claim, in which said hold-back device comprlses a spr1ng-susta1ned strap having an enlargement at its end adapting it to be secured to a window. 7

9. A self massage machine having means for'supporting the same to permit bodily movement of the machine when at Work and comprising a massage belt, a base, anelectric motor thereon having transmission mecha-' nism for alternately reciprocating the ends of the belt and a resilient hold-back device, adapted to permit said movement of the machine while sustaining the same against the pull of the users body on said belt.

10. A self massage machine comprising a massage belt, an electric motor having transmission mechanism for alternately reciprocating the ends of the belt, said motor and mechanism adapted to be supported with freedom for bodily rectilinear movement when at Work, and a resilient hold-back device adapted to limit such rectilinear movement while sustaining the machine against the pull of the users body on said belt.

In testimony whereof, I have signed thisv V 

